ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia has offered financial assistance to Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) for establishment of a state of the art laboratory to check sophisticated drugs. The ANF has started to search site for the laboratory in Rawalpindi.
According to Anti-Narcotics Division Secretary Akbar Khan Hoti, ANF is deficient in tracing out narcotics and drugs being smuggled in or out through modern techniques. Therefore, a modern and well equipped laboratory to meet the purpose is the need of the hour.
“In this regard, Saudi government has offered provision of funds for the procurement of land in Rawalpindi,” he said.
He said that ANF only needed provision of equipment to trace out drugs from the smuggler as Pakistan has already making success in arresting drug peddlers smuggling drugs to Pakistan.
“Cocaine, STC and other modern drugs are being smuggled into Pakistan from developed world like US, UK, EU and other countries which possess best possible technology to trace out narcotics” he added.
He said that more than eighty percent Pakistani prisoners held in the jails in other countries were under the charges of drugs trafficking and it was a matter of deep concerns for Pakistan and friendly countries. This is the reason that other countries want to extend cooperation with Pakistan to overcome this challenge.
He said that Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Office should develop a mechanism to provide data of Pakistanis held abroad under drugs trafficking charges to ANF to enable ANF to bust network of drugs traffickers in Pakistan.
He was also of the view that ANF’s performance could further be enhanced by extending jurisdiction of CNS Act to Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) so that ANF officials be able to carry out raids in tribal agencies.
